The Beginning of the End
by SWAT2291
Summary: Raymond wakes up to find his home city has had an outbreak of monsters. This is the story of his reach for survival. Warning: Explicit Language
1. Chapter 1: Drunk on Shadows

Raymond Freeman a 23 year old with black hair opened his eyes waken up from the afternoon light shining through the curtains. He turned away from the light and looked at his alarm clock. Raymond thought to himself "2 o' clock I slept in again.. But that was a great party last night." Raymond sat up and felt his head. He turned and stood up out of bed stretched his arms then cracked his neck. "What the hell am I going to do today" said Raymond as he looked at his calendar on the wall "September 22nd 2003 nothing scheduled for today."

Raymond put on some jeans and an undershirt a heavy sweater over it. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed 3 hot pockets and prepared them in the microwave. "God I love freezer food." He said as he watched them cook. At that instant he heard a loud screech from the tires of a car coming to a halt then a loud crash. Raymond peeked out of the window of his small townhouse. He could see a small white car with its front end deeply caved in from impact with a black SUV.

He ran and slid on some hiking boots and ran outside. He watched the two cars burn as more people came out of their houses. Then there was movement inside of the car and Raymond ran to check it out. His eyes opened wide in shock as he observed what seemed to be a mutilated body still alive as is climbed out of the window. He walked backwards slowly as the bloody figure crawled toward him.

A man ran to it and tried to help it up "Are you alright? You look like crap!" said the man. The body turned and bit down into his neck. The man lost his balance from the shock and the body continued to bite down as the man screamed "ARRGH Get off agh!" The man seemed to lose consciousness. Raymond continued to walked backwards "Oh my god what the hell is that a.. Z. zombie?" he said and tripped over the curb onto his back.

A police cruiser drove up and a tall dark skinned man ran out and to the man getting eaten "Oh my god what's happening to this town!" The police officer bent down and pulled the zombie off of the man; the zombie turned and took a bite out of the officer's neck then used its body weight to take him down. The officer held its neck and punched it in the face but didn't affect it much and took a bite from the other side of his neck. The officer pulled out his handgun rolled over forcing the zombie on its back he held the zombie down and shot it in the head killing it almost instantly.

The officer stood up then fell back and laid there motionless. Raymond stood up and ran to the officer. He kneeled down and looked at the officers neck "My god that looks nasty" Raymond glanced down at the gun in the cops hand he looked up at the cops face, it had turned pale and Raymond felt for a pulse but to no prevail. He removed his hand and looked around to see if anyone was there. Most of the neighbors walked away at the sight of all the blood. Raymond took the gun from the cops hand and turned the safety on then slipped it into his belt. He took the clips for the gun and slipped them into his pocket.

Raymond stood up looking into the distance down the road. He could see some figures moving slowly toward him. "Looks like the rest of the parties coming to greet me, just my luck." He jogged to the police cruiser and hopped in "I gotta get out of here and fast!" Raymond closed the door and peeled out heading down the road away from the pack of zombies.


	2. Chapter 2: Circle of Fear

"I've heard of that incident in Raccoon City in 98" Raymond shook his head trying to lose the thought. He could clearly see some smoke in the sky coming from various directions. Raymond turned around and looked in the backseat trying to look for anything else to help him on his escape. The back seat was empty; he turned forward and looked at back at the road. A man jumped in the road and held his hands up meaning to signal a stop.

Raymond swerved the car to the left missing the man by a few inches and sliding a few feet. Raymond yanked the wheel to the right and let off the gas, causing the car to regain traction and jerk to the right. The car continued to slide and slammed into a tree at the cars back left door. The small crash shook Raymond up and bit but he had no serious injuries. He looked out of the right passenger window to see the man running to the car. The man stopped just at the door and started pounding on the window.

"Get me out of here people are going crazy!" Raymond rolled down the passenger window about an inch, as the man started to jerk the handle trying to open the door. Raymond pulled out the handgun in his belt aiming at the man's head.

"How do I know your not one of them" The man flinched and put his hands up.

"Please, I'm not one of them get me out of here" Raymond could clearly see that the man had emotion and was well alive.

"Alright, get in." Raymond put the gun back in his belt, reached over and unlocked the passenger door.

"Oh my god, thank you" The man said as he opened the door and sat down "Oh, and by the way my names Connor."

"Mines Raymond nice to meet you on this fine day.. How old are ya?"

"I'm 28… and yeah what a fine day it is." Answered Connor, Raymond started to drive slowly and got back on the road. He turned to Connor.

"So you got a weapon?" asked Raymond, Connor raised a fist

"This is all I need and so should a real man" Raymond nodded

"Not gonna be enough" Connor turned to Raymond

"What you calling me a wuss? Can't defend myself? What about you? You need a gun" Raymond smirked and looked down at the gun in his belt then back up at the road

"Well I don't need a gun. It's just better to have one just in case." Connor looked out of his window watching a few people getting attacked by zombies.

"So.. What are they?" asked Connor looking at the zombies ahead. Raymond swerved the car missing the zombies roaming on the road.

"I don't know… I think they might be the same as those things that were involved in the 1998 incident at Raccoon City." Answered Raymond, Connor turned to him

"Are you sure? I mean… What's happening to this world?" asked Connor as he glared at the gun in Raymond's belt.

"I have no idea…" answered Raymond looking at the clock in the dashboard. Connor looked at Raymond's face examining it

"Are you scared?" Connor asked with a quiet voice. Raymond turned to Connor and then stared at each other for about five seconds.

"Of course I am" said Raymond looking back at the road.

"So… um where are we headed?" Connor asked, Raymond cleared his throat

"I work as a pilot for helicopter tours. I should be able to get one of them to get out of here. Otherwise I have no fucking idea." Connor opened the glove compartment. He reached inside and took out a handgun similar to Raymond's.

"Hey cool I got one too. Now I'm sure we can survive but by the way how far is your work place?" Connor asked as he fingered the gun.

"About ten minutes from here. If those "Zombies" aren't everywhere by now it should be safe there. Being in the center of the city it may already be swarmed."

"Well they first noticed those things at the north edge of town early this morning at about 5. They shouldn't have spread that fast." Said Connor in a questioning voice

"Well let's hope so." Raymond said in a depressed voice as he turned the car on the onramp to the freeway. The road was deserted but the side leading out of the city was like a parking lot.

Raymond turned on the radio and they heard a woman's voice saying "All ways out of the city have been closed off. It seems the US Government doesn't want any of those things getting out of the city." Raymond turned off the radio "Heh thought so and that's why I decided to get a chopper to get out of here"

"I would think people would want to drive out even against traffic," said Connor

There was a cloud of smoke rising from the road up ahead. "And I guess that's the reason" said Raymond as he slowed the car as he got close to a large car pile up. "Damn what happened here? There's got to be over 20 cars in that crash!"

The car slowed to a halt and Raymond opened the door and got out. There was numerous bodies scattered on the ground they were all motionless. He bent over into the police cruiser. "Connor get out there may be some survivors that we could help" Connor got out and took a look around. Raymond walked slowly past all the bodies and seen someone on their knees with a backpack with their pants had many blood stains on it. The person was bent over a body. Raymond looked at Connor and took out his handgun, then aimed it at the person "Shh.. come on lets check it out" Raymond said as he quietly walked to the person.


	3. Chapter 3: Join Me In Death

Raymond came to about 4 feet behind the person and turned to Connor who was standing about 7 feet behind Raymond and he also had his gun out. Raymond turned to the person "Turn around slowly" The person flinched and turned their head around slowly to the left then turned her body to look at Raymond. It was a woman with long black hair she was surely alive. Her face had some blood on it and the body she was bending over started to twitch.

"Don't shoot" she said in a soft sweet voice. Raymond and Connor lowered their guns.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" Raymond asked

"My name is Melanie and I'm a nurse so I decided to get some supplies from the hospital in my bag and come out to help people." said Melanie as she wiped her hands off on her jeans.

"Are you even thinking of escaping the city?" asked Raymond

"After I help as much people as I can" said Melanie as she looked at the other bodies lying around. Raymond looked at the twitching body lying in front of Melanie.

"You better get away from that body" said Raymond raising his gun and aiming at its head. Melanie turned and looked at it

"Why is that?" she asked as the body opened its eyes and quickly tried to grab her. Melanie stumbled backwards with a short scream. Raymond pulled the trigger of his gun and stopped the zombie dead where it laid.

"That's why" said Raymond putting his gun away "Now hurry and come with us before the rest of these guys get up." Melanie stood up and walked with Raymond to the car.

"Why can't we just drive out of here?" asked Melanie looking at the rest of the cars on the other side of the highway.

"Whole cities been quarantined. Only way out is in the sky." Connor stated as he got into the car.

"So where are we going to get a helicopter?" Melanie asked

"At my work building, I'm a pilot. We got maybe five choppers one should still be there."

"And if there isn't one?" Melanie asked climbing into the back seat.

"There will" Raymond said getting into the drivers seat. Connor turned around and looked at Melanie.

"So how old are you?" asked Connor

"I'm 22 years young and you guys?" answered Melanie softly

"I'm 23 and Connor here is 28" Raymond answered as he started to turn the car around. "Melanie do you have a weapon, or something to defend yourself with?" Melanie took off her backpack and looked out of the window.

"No, but I haven't encountered any of those things that have been going around" The car turned on to a near by off ramp onto a deserted road.

"Perios City… I wonder what's going to happen to it," said Raymond turning the car into a bigger road leading into the city. "Since the highways are cramped I'm going to have to take roads and it maybe dangerous… We need to protect ourselves, but we don't have enough ammo to do that." Connor took out the his gun and checked the ammo in the clip

"I've only got 15." said Connor replacing the clip in the gun.

"I should have 14, and I have two clips you should take one," said Raymond slipping his hand into his pocket and handing one to Connor.

"Do you have a gun for me?" asked Melanie, looking at the one in Connor's hand. Connor turned around and looked at her then at his gun.

"Here have mine," said Connor handing Melanie his gun and the clip. Raymond put his hand on the gun.

"No Connor this isn't a game if we want to survive we need to keep everything at the best we could have It." said Raymond guiding the gun back to Connor.

"I was just trying to be nice and like I said I can defend myself with my fists," said Connor putting his gun back. "If this is a game it's pretty scary." Raymond turned to Melanie

"Nothing against you but it's for the best." said Raymond speeding the car up. Melanie smiled

"I know… I don't even know how to use a gun anyway." said Melanie as she closed her eyes and leaned back.

"Yea get some rest I can get us there you too Connor you look a little beat" said Raymond accelerating the car even more. Connor looked at Raymond then nodded; he leaned back and closed his eyes. Raymond whispered to himself "Be there in about 5 minutes but at least they can get some rest." Raymond looked in the rear view mirror. There was a speeding bus coming at the car about 80 feet away. "Oh my god what's that guys problem" Raymond looked at the speedometer they were traveling at 80 mph and the bus was still gaining. He turned around looking at Melanie then looked at Connor. Raymond looked at the road and floored the gas petal. The car roared loudly and started to gain speed slowly in the distance there was a lone zombie roaming on the left of the road. Raymond turned to drive the car on the right side of the road. He missed the zombie a few seconds later and returned to the middle of the road.

Raymond looked in the rear view mirror and seen the bus slam into the zombie but continued to stay at a steady speed. He glanced at the speedometer again and the car was traveling at 110mph and gaining speed slowly. "At this rate we'll get there in a minute or so" said Raymond quietly. A drop of water hit the windshield, and Raymond leaned forward and looked in the sky there was think gray clouds. "It's gonna start raining soon its getting dark" He looked around and seen a large building up ahead a little to the right about a mile away.

Raymond continued to drive in silence as it started to rain harder at about 120mph for a few seconds and thought to himself "I should start slowing down now I gotta take a sharp right turn." Raymond pressed the brake a little and the car slowed down a bit. Through the rain he could see a T-intersection and he was going head on to a wall. "SHIT!" Raymond screamed and he slammed the brakes. The cars wheels locked and Raymond turned to right but slammed into the wall.

Melanie and Connor woke up and looked at Raymond "What the fuck?" said Connor rubbing his neck. Melanie grumbled

"Yeah what happened?" Raymond looked at Connor then looked past him and could see the bus driving towards them in the distance.

"Run," said Raymond in a low voice. Connor squinted his eyes in frustration

"What?" Connor looked past Raymond at the side view mirror that had been forced facing toward him from the crash. And through it he could see the bus coming right for them. Connor turned around "Run!" he screamed as he turned around and looked at the bus. Everyone lunged toward the right doors and tumbled out after then opened them. Raymond got up quickly

"Come on lets go my work building is right there!" Raymond screamed running down the road in front of the car.. Raymond run about 40 feet then slowed down and turned around as Connor and Melanie caught up and turned around with him. They heard the loud roar of the bus out of their sight and in an instant slammed into the car in a large explosion.

Raymond leaned forward and put his hands on his knees "Wow that was intense" said Raymond breathing deeply. Connor tapped on Raymond's shoulder

"Don't look now but this street is infested." said Connor. Raymond stood up straight and turned around. There were about 10 zombies roaming around. Raymond pointed at a large building about 70 feet away.

"We're gonna make a run for it" said Raymond quietly

"Are you crazy?" said Melanie looking around.

"No, it would be the best thing to do," answered Raymond getting into a starting run position "Ok… 3, 2, 1, GO!" Raymond started sprinting toward the building, Connor and Melanie followed behind by a few feet. They stayed clear of all the zombies near them and finally reached the building. They all stopped at the curb and looked up then at the two front doors. They were colored a dark Crimson red "Now we just gotta get in"


	4. Chapter 4: Behind the Crimson Door

Raymond ran forward and reached for the door handle on the double red iron doors. He grabbed it and forced it up and down "Fuck! It's locked!" Raymond kicked the door then turned around. None of the zombies were close to them "Help me break this damn door open!" They all started to kick wildly at the door for a few seconds.

"This isn't working!" screamed Melanie as she stopped kicking and started to pound the door with her hand.

"Wait stop!" said Raymond putting his hands in front of them signaling them to stop. Raymond took a few steps back "All at once!" Raymond ran forward and kicked the door with all his might at the same time as Connor at Melanie. The doors flew open and they rushed into a dark deserted lobby with only a few lights on. They turned around and closed the doors Raymond sighed deeply "Well that was fun, and it looks like the powers out." said Raymond barricading the door with a near by chair.

"Really now?" said Melanie wiping sweat from her forehead. Connor walked over to the front desk and checked behind it.

"Dead body of a lady here" said Connor backing away from it. Raymond and Melanie walked over and Raymond examined it.

"She was shot in the head. She won't be getting up, I wonder who did this." said Raymond quietly. He looked at the two elevators on the left wall. "3rd floor is the offices we should check there I got a gun and some ammo in my desk." said Raymond walking over to an elevator.

"Isn't the power out?" asked Melanie following Raymond.

"Auxiliary power, it mostly powers the elevators for escape." answered Raymond pushing the call button. They watched the numbers above the elevator go from 4th to 1st. There was a ring signaling the elevator was there. The door opened and a lone zombie lunged out at Raymond. "Shit!" Raymond ducked under the zombies arms, grabbed its legs and pulled them up. The zombie fell forward and its head hit the ground snapping its neck.

Raymond let go of its legs and sat there he took a deep breath and let it out slow. He looked up at Connor and said "That scared the hell out of me" as he stood up and walked into the elevator. Connor and Melanie followed him in Melanie looked at Raymond.

"Are you ok?" she asked

"Yeah sure" answered Raymond softly as he pushed the 3rd floor button. The elevator started moving up with a jolt. A ring sounded at 2nd floor and Raymond took out his gun and held it up in front of him. Connor looked at the gun.

"What's up?" he said taking his gun out.

"Melanie, get behind me. We don't know if any more zombies will stumble into the elevator when the door opens." said Raymond cautiously.

"I guess your right" said Connor aiming his gun at the door. Melanie stepped behind Raymond as the elevator rung as it stopped at 3rd floor and the door opened slowly. The room was also dark and deserted with only one row of lights on in the middle of the room. The room had two rows of cubicles going down with about twelve on each side on every row.

"Hmm well it's deserted, but keep your guard up my cubicle is the one all the way at the end. Melanie stay behind us." said Raymond quietly as he took a step forward he looked out of the window on the left "Its starting to rain pretty hard. Ok Connor eyes on the left I'll keep my eyes on the right walk slowly. If there are any zombies in here lets hope they don't wake up." They walked slowly through the middle of the room.

"Raymond I don't see anything I think we're safe here" whispered Connor they continued to walk and they reached Raymond's cubicle.

"Don't be so sure about that Connor we can't see the other side and there might be some in those." Raymond whispered back as he crouched down searching his desk quietly.

"So why do you have a gun and bullets in your desk?" asked Melanie as she kneeled down next to him.

"One day some bank robbers came in demanding a ride, ever since I had these" said Raymond pulling out a silver gun just like the black one he had. "My custom silver Beretta," he said taking out the clip checking for ammo inside it. "Here you can have this one" taking out the clip and putting another bullet into it, replacing it into the gun and handing it to Melanie. She aimed it at the wall and looked down the sight. Raymond put his hand on hers and pushed the gun down "Emergencies only." said Raymond blankly.

"Um… Raymond I think you should see this." said Connor. Raymond stood up and looked around.

"Oh shit," said Raymond reaching for a key on his desk. In a few cubicles at the edges of the room some zombies were rising. "Come on! Get to the elevator!" Connor made off to the elevator and Raymond pulled on Melanie's arm "Let's go!" Raymond sprinted behind Connor. While Melanie was running a floored zombie in a cubicle grasped onto Melanie's shoe she screamed and fell forward. Connor and Raymond stopped running "Go Connor I got it" said Raymond running to Melanie helping her up. Connor ran to the elevator.

"Hurry guys their getting close" said Connor aiming his gun at a zombie getting near him. The zombie yanked at Melanie's shoe pulling it self closer to them and causing Melanie to lose balance while getting up and pulling her down again. The zombies head got close to her leg but she kicked it with her other leg. It pulled at her shoe again but immediately stopped and died from a shot in the head. Melanie looked at Raymond with his gun aimed at the zombie. Raymond helped her up and put his gun away she hugged him tightly

"Yeah, you're safe now come on" said Raymond looking around. She let him go and he grabbed her arm and they ran into the elevator. Connor backed slowly into the elevator as a zombie got a few feet away. Raymond pressed the close door button then the 4th floor button. "Well that was also fun," said Raymond tossing the key up in the air then catching it. Connor looked at the key.

"What's that for?" asked Connor curiously

"My chopper." Answered Raymond blankly

"So you have your own helicopter? If you do and you're a pilot why do you have a cubicle? Or are all those cubicles for pilots?" Connor asked examining his gun.

"First, it's not really my helicopter but it's in my responsibility and I fly tours with it. Second, I like having a cubicle I could have an office but I feel a cubicle has more privacy. Lastly, no those are for the accountants." said Raymond aiming at the elevator doors. A buzzing sound startled all of them as the elevator came to a halt on the 4th floor.

"What's wrong?" said Melanie pressing on the open doors button.

"Oh yeah we need a code for the 4th floor, the roof. I've been laid off for a while so I forgot It." said Raymond lowering his gun and walking to the key pad under the buttons.

"Think you can remember?" said Connor lowering his gun and walking next to Raymond.

"Probably it just that-", the sound of a motor starting cut Raymond off. Everyone stay quiet and listened to it for a while. "What is that?... Shit that's my chopper starting someone's leaving in our escape ride!"

"Hurry up and open the doors!" screamed Connor. Raymond dialed in 4 numbers and the same buzzing sound went off.

"Shit, I think it was." said Raymond dialing in another four numbers. And the buzzing sound went off again. Melanie stepped over to Raymond.

"Hurry!" she screamed. Raymond put his hand on his head trying to remember.

"Got it, it was 2291" said Raymond dialing it in. The doors opened slowly and they all stumbled out onto the wet roof. They looked up and the helicopter was already about twenty feet in the air.

"Wait!" they all screamed. But the pilot couldn't hear them over the sound of the motor. The helicopter tilted forward and started to move forward, Raymond aimed his gun up.

"Maybe if I shoot, it would get his attention!" screamed Raymond. He shot straight up but the helicopter continued to move forward. "Damn it!" screamed Raymond as he aimed at the Helicopter and shot. The bullet hit the back part of the cab and the back propeller stopped spinning immediately. "Oh shit" said Raymond blankly. Connor looked at Raymond.

"What?" said Connor pushing back his wet hair. Raymond lowered his gun slowly.

"He's gonna lose control and crash" said Raymond looking at Connor. The Helicopter started to rotate to the right faster and faster. Melanie turned to Raymond and grabbed onto his arm.

"What did you do!" screamed Melanie shaking Raymond's arm rapidly.

"I must've hit something that made the back propeller spin. That keeps the chopper steady now he's gonna crash." said Raymond walking forward. The Helicopter started to lose altitude and was heading toward a near by building. "My god…" said Raymond quietly. Everyone ran to the edge of the building watching the Helicopter head straight toward the building. The Helicopter collided with the corner of the roof of the building and exploded in a fiery blast. Shrapnel flew in all directions; they covered their faces with their hands from the bright explosion. A piece of shrapnel missed Melanie's head by a few inches and another skimmed Raymond's right thigh.


	5. Chapter 5: Sweet Pandemonium

He fell to his side instantly and clenched his thigh with his hands and grunted. Melanie immediately took off her backpack.

"Raymond let me see it" said Melanie quietly. Raymond's hands were covered in blood. Melanie took some bandages out of her bag and pulled Raymond's hands away. Blood gushed out of his leg. Melanie put the bandages on his leg and pushed down. She looked up at Connor "It's pretty deep. I need to sew it close so I need you to keep it closed as I sew it."

"So I put my hands on both sides and keep its closed?" asked Connor as he crouched next to Melanie.

"Yeah exactly" she said putting Connor's hands next to the cut. "Ok I gotta pour some disinfectant on it and use this sewing kit on it" she said pulling out a needle, plastic thread, and a small plastic bottle from her bag. "Ok hold it now" she opened the bottle and poured a little liquid onto the cut and it started bubbling. She wiped the bubbles away with another bandage and started sewing the cut. Connor looked away

"Damn he got hit good." said Connor laughing a little. Raymond's leg jerked as Melanie pierced his leg with the small needle.

"Shut up!" said Raymond through clenched teeth.

"I'm not kidding Raymond its bad" said Connor taking a look at it again.

"I swear I will kick your ass when Melanie is finished! I swear it!" said Raymond looking at Connor with burning eyes.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry man" said Connor looking into Raymond's eyes. Melanie finished sewing the cut.

"Seriously, Raymond if that piece of metal hit an inch in it would've cut right through the bone and a large vein and I don't know what would happen then. We can't get you to a hospital." said Melanie cutting the thread and placing a bandage on the cut. She took some medical tape and wrapped it around his leg several times. Raymond sat up and looked at his leg then at the pool of blood around his leg.

"Is that a lot of blood? I'm gonna be fine right?" asked Raymond trying to move his leg. Melanie cupped her hands and caught some rain then rinsed her hands off and Connor did the same.

"Yeah, of course, I think you should get some rest. All of us should, maybe get some food too." said Melanie

"Damn it I haven't gotten anything to eat since last night. I ran off without getting my hot pockets only now when I think about it I'm hungry" said Raymond holding his stomach. Melanie looked around and seen a small canvas held up by a few poles and a wall.

"Connor, help me get Raymond under some cover while we search for some food in the building." said Melanie tilting her head toward the canvas. Connor and Melanie helped Raymond up and put his arms over their shoulders and walked him under the canvas and set him down. "Stay here and try to move around so you can get used to it. We're not staying here as you should know." Raymond nodded and started moving his leg a little. They walked into the elevator and pressed the button for 2nd floor and the door closed.

"You're gonna be leading me… That's kinda odd are you sure your just a nurse?" asked Connor curiously

"To tell you the truth I'm in the army as a field medic. I've had field experience and was supposed to stay here for a week, and then go back out. But this happened so I guess when we get out of here then I gotta go back." said Melanie taking out her gun.

"Trained with a gun?" said Connor taking his out also.

"I can disassemble it and reassemble it in less than 10 seconds." said Melanie confidently.

"And you didn't tell us this earlier, why?" said Connor as the elevator rung at 3rd floor.

"I thought you guys would like me better since some guys think nurses are hot and stuff." said Melanie smiling as the elevator stopped at 2nd floor.

"Well I guess that's true" said Connor also smiling. The elevator doors slid open and revealed a well lit open floor. A small kitchen was placed at the far right corner as the rest of the room looked like the perfect place for a party Tables, chairs, and a TV. Melanie took a step out of the elevator and looked around.

"Looks clear to me, no bodies on the ground or any wandering zombies." said Melanie walking toward the kitchen.

"I bet something is going to be somewhere in here" Connor said suspiciously following Melanie. They stayed silent until they made it to the kitchen "Tall cupboards, big refrigerator, another door I told you. Something's probably in the refrigerator." said Connor taking out his gun and aiming it at the refrigerator. Melanie walked up to the refrigerator

"Well I bet there's nothing inside here but food." said Melanie holstering her gun.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" said Connor with a grin. Melanie jerked open the door and looked inside. There were various bottled drinks and snacks with some other types of food. "Well I didn't bet anything I just-"Connor got interrupted but a loud thud. A tall door behind Melanie flew open and a zombie lunged out and grabbed her from behind. Melanie screamed as she turned pushing the zombie off balance and made it lose grip of her. As the zombie fell back Melanie landed a hard punch into its face throwing the zombie harder to the ground. A stream of blood poured out of the zombies head as Melanie looked at Connor.

"Why was this guy in the pantry?" said Melanie panting. Connor shrugged and took a look in the pantry.

"He was hungry… No pun intended" said Connor turning the light on inside the pantry. "There is a lot of food in here also." he said looking back at Melanie.

"Then lets get some for Raymond and ourselves." she said shaking her hand out and grabbing three water bottles from the refrigerator.

"Should we get more for later?" said Connor grabbing a few snack bars.

"That would be a good idea wouldn't it?" asking Melanie sarcastically. They grabbed a bunch of snacks and put it into her bag. "Let's get back to Raymond so we can figure out what to do next." They walked back to the elevator and got in. They heard another loud thud as the elevator doors closed.

"This sucks" said Connor yawning

"Yeah, I know I just want to get this over with" said Melanie looking at her hand.

"Maybe this will be over before we think" Connor said as the elevator rung at 3rd floor. The elevator jerked and stopped a little after the 3rd floor. "What the hell?" the elevator screeched and jerked down sending both of them to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6: Dark Light

Connor stood up slowly and aimed his gun at the ceiling of the elevator. "Don't worry; it was probably just a glitch or bug in the system of the elevator." Melanie said getting up slowly.

Connor glared down at Melanie reaching for the buttons "Oh yeah I bet, everything else today has gone so well." Connor said as he rapidly pressed the button to the 4th floor.

"Why do you always have to contradict everything I have to say?" Melanie responded staring up at the ceiling of the elevator.

"Why shouldn't I? Like I said, today sucks and I bet it's only going to get worst and worst." Connor answered lowered his gun from the ceiling. The elevator jerked again as it started to rise again.

"Oh and what was that code Raymond used?" Melanie said as she reached over to the keypad under the elevator buttons.

"Ah, I don't know 2911 or 1922. Try 2291. That sounds about right." Connor said quietly while placing his gun in his pocket. The elevator slowed to a stop at the 4th floor and Melanie typed in the code. The elevator doors screeched open to a dark rainy sky.

"Raymond you alright out here?" Melanie said jogging out of the elevator turning to where Raymond sat.

"Well, I'm not dead if that's what you're asking." Raymond said rubbing his thigh lightly.

"So, where are we headed now smart guy?" Connor asked, walking over to the ledge of the roof. The elevator doors screeching close behind him.

"Give him a break Connor, it was a good plan, there was just a small detail which if that hadn't happened we would be getting out of here." Melanie sighed "But destiny seems to have it in for us. Luck wasn't always my stro-"A loud screech from the elevator interrupted Melanie and everyone looked to the doors. Screeches continued to emerge from the doors until they heard the elevator break free from its bindings and listened as the elevator freefell to the bottom of the shaft ending in a large crash.

"Well we can't go that way anymore." commented Connor with a sigh.

"There's that green house to the side, I bet we could jump down on their roof and if we break though there could be a lot of plants to cushion our fall. Other than that I got nothing to help out situation." Raymond said tightly while struggling to stand up. Melanie stumbled over quickly to help Raymond up shifting some of his weight onto herself. Connor looked over the side of the building and scratched his head.

"You sure we'll be able to jump to another building? Including yourself in that condition?" Melanie said between breaths as she helped Raymond over to the ledge.

"It's not that far really. Just a small alley in the way, lets just hope there's none of those things inside of the green house. Then we would be fucked, I'm trying my best to make do with what we're stuck with but it's really complicated." Raymond said as he examined the ground below, while leaning over the railing. Connor walked over to them and took a deep breath taking a good look at the green house.

"I can make it, but-"a loud thud stopped Connors sentence short and all of them whipped around, looking at the elevator doors. "Ok, so what the fuck was that?" Connor asked looking at the others. The elevator doors begun to screech open slowly, only darkness could be seen through the doors.

Raymond lowered himself to the ground and pulled out his gun, aiming it at the doors. "I don't know, but I bet it's not going to like us very much." Raymond said as the doors continued to open slowly, a large red whip like figure darted out of the crack and started to swing wildly.

"And again I ask politely. What the fuck is that?" Connor said with a shaken voice also pulling out his gun and aiming it at the doors. Melanie aimed her gun at the door and took a shot into the hole. A cruel yelp came from the hole as the whip like figure retracted into the doors.

"That was a nice shot, think you got it?" asked Raymond taking a deep breath. Melanie crept towards the door with Connor close behind. Melanie stopped at the range at which the red whip figure had a max range.

"I doubt it, it let out a scream and had time to pull whatever the heck that was back into it self." Melanie said moving her head left and right examining the hole from her spot.

"It looked like a tongue to me, so if you shot it, you must have hit its head. Which means from my perspective it must be pretty dead and it's not going anywhere." Connor said with a little chuckle. Suddenly the doors flew open and a red human figure darted out towards them. Melanie and Connor ducked as the figure soared over them. Raymond rolled to the side as the figure landed on the railing and turned around. Raymond continued to crawl away as Melanie and Connor took a look at the figure. It had a human shape but had no skin, its muscles were developed and the figure had large claws on each of its limbs. The head had large sharp teeth and its brain was visible with a small chuck of it missing. It opened its mouth and a long tongue slowly crept out from between its teeth.

"Looks like I did hit it in the head." Melanie said quietly aiming her gun at it. Raymond continued to scrabble away breathing heavily.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Raymond demanded coming to a stop at one side of the roof. Raymond turned over and aimed his gun at the creature perched on the railing. Melanie and Connor stood up both locked onto the creature with their weapons.

"I think we're going to need more than these to kill that thing and it looks angrier than all hell." Connor said shakily as he stumbled to his side.

"We just need to find a weak spot and take advantage of it, everything is like that." Melanie said taking a deep breath and taking a new stance. The creature pulling in it tongue and let out a hiss as it leapt towards Melanie, claws in front of itself.


	7. Chapter 7: Our Diabolical Rapture

Rain continued to pour as the creature soared towards Melanie extending its tongue towards her. Connor stumbled and fell onto his side, letting out an accidental shot as he made contact with the ground. The bullet caught the creatures tongue between its teeth and Melanie ducked under and rolled forward as the creature flew over Melanie and landed before the elevator, its tongue hung uselessly out of its mouth. "Good shot Connor" Melanie said between breaths as she got up, watching the creature.

"Yeah, no problem." He said, scrambling away on his hands and knees. Raymond stood up and braced himself with the hand rail.

"Whatever that thing is and was I don't really care about. But if it's trying to kill us, we'd better kill it first." Raymond said checking the ammo in his gun. "Even if it does have a weak spot we might not be able to find it in time. But if we shoot it enough, I'm pretty it's going down."

Melanie turned her head towards Raymond keeping her eyes on the monster. "That's the problem, I'm not sure if we have enough ammo to do that." Melanie also said checking her ammo quickly. Connor stood up next to the edge of the building to the right of Melanie and Raymond.

"I just want that thing dead, I don't care how." Connor said aiming his gun at the creature. The monster hissed and rushed towards Connor.

"Watch out!" Raymond and Melanie screamed as all three of them let out a shot with their handguns. The creature got hit in its right fore and hind legs and tripped. Connor dove to his left and rolled as the creature slid on its side into a bar of the hand rail, snapping its back. Connor stood up quickly and dashed towards the others glancing back.

"Is it dead?" Connor said as he turned around next to Melanie.

"I don't know," said Raymond walking towards the others. "But I think it's ironic how confident you were in your fists alone a while back."

"Shut up man, I get it." Connor shot a look towards Raymond.

"Yeah, it's not dead" Melanie said backing up slowly. The creature turned its head toward them and pulled it self into its stomach. A stream of blood flowed out of its mouth as it let out a shriek and pulled it self toward them, letting its legs drag uselessly. The sound of a few roaring car engines came in from a distance and started getting louder.

"It's slow now, let's just keep moving and think of a way to kill it." The three of them split up and started walking around the roof, keeping away from the slow moving monster.

"Can't we just shoot it again?" Connor asked aiming his gun at it.

"I'd rather try to keep all the ammo we can." Raymond suggested limping quickly away as it started toward him.

"But this isn't getting us anywhere we cou-"a loud screech and crash interrupted Connor and the building shook. "What the fuck?" he said as more screeching and crashing occurred below them. Screaming followed short after from the streets but ended abruptly.

"Check out what it is you guys." Melanie said taking a shot at the creature pulling its attention away from Raymond.

"Alright but we still gotta kill this thing." Raymond said limping towards the railing with Connor.

"Don't worry that thing is too slow to catch us anymore." Melanie said with a deep sigh "But if it does get to us some how, it's gonna tear us apart." She said backing to the opposite railing. Connor and Raymond peered over the rail; there was a small pile up of three or four cars and trucks that seemed to have been trying to evade the undead. They all ended up colliding with the building; the passengers seemed to have died either on impact or by the undead roaming the streets. The ones roaming on the streets seemed to have gained a bit more than the lightly scattered ones a while ago.

"Looks like there were other survivors looking for a way out, but ended up how we could have been." Raymond called out to Melanie.

"Those could blow any minute, the cars are wrecked, and there should be a good bit of fuel leaking out." Connor called to Melanie. Melanie looked at the two of them.

"We could be able to use that some how if it was on fire. Not sure how we would get this thing dow-"The creature leapt with its front arms toward Melanie. She ducked and rolled forward and the creature landed on the railing. "That's it, if we get it to jump at us, we could send it into the wreckage and blow it up if we could light the fuel." Melanie panted, running toward them.

"I'm not sure if shooting it will work, usually only works in the movies." Raymond stated as he looked over the railing at the wreckage.

"Well, we could get lucky somehow you know? Everything else today has gone so well." Connor said leaning against the rail.

"Or something else could spark it. But that only happens in the movies also. For some reason, everything has to explode in movies." Melanie turned toward Raymond. "This feels like a movie in it self, I just hope we can find a way out of this damn city and find out what happened here."

Connor turned around and screamed "Duck!" the three of them turned and ducked as the creature leaped over the three of them. Scraping its claws on the rail and falling over the edge.

Raymond stood up slowly "Holy shit that has to have been the scariest thing to happen to me today." Raymond said in a serious voice. Connor lowered himself to a sit and extended one leg.

"I'm going to have to record that in my scare book." Connor stated with a deep sigh. Melanie stood up and looked over the edge.

"That thing is still very well alive, but it should be wounded pretty badly." Melanie said quietly. The creature was on its back on top of a car in the pile up, squirming vigorously. "It shouldn't be a problem to us anymore unless that thing is damn strong." As Melanie said that, a piece of rubble from the building dislodged and landed on the creature, silencing it instantly. "And there it goes… Finally, but unfortunately for us we still have to get off of this roof." She said in a hollow voice.

"The only opening I can still see is the greenhouse next to us. Three stories tall, with the story top two stories the actual greenhouse and the lower portion made of concrete walls. It's pretty safe unless some of those things got in through the doors." Raymond said heading over to the rail overlooking the greenhouse. Melanie and Connor followed close behind.

"We're gonna have to figure out a way out of there too." Connor said climbing onto the railing and sitting on it with his legs over the edge. Melanie also climbed onto the rail and sat on it.

"Looks about fifteen to twenty feet away, with one story to spare it should be plenty of room. If we don't make it, we'll either die from hitting the ground or all those things in the alley. How will the glass hold up?" Melanie asked studying the alley and buildings. Raymond steadily sat on the rail and swung his legs over the rail.

"Well to my knowledge, it should be strong enough to withstand a hurricane or two. So as long not more than one of us jumps or stays on one pane at once. We should be alright; if not there are a lot of plants in there to break our fall." Raymond said setting himself on his feet resting on the edge of the building and holding himself with the railing behind him.

"If it's the only option we have, we should take it. I should be the lightest so I'll go first just in case." Melanie said as she copied Raymond's stance. "Here goes everything!" Melanie said and pushed herself off from the ledge.


	8. Chapter 8: Salt In Our Wounds

Melanie landed on her stomach on a pane of glass close to the edge. "Oh my god!" she screamed as she slid down the slanted roof. She reached continuously for the smooth roofs in front of her but there was nothing to grab on to. "I'm gonna fall help!" Melanie screamed slipping from the roof.

"Melanie!" Raymond screamed, pushing off the roof diving towards Melanie. He caught her just as she lost grip. Both of them crashed into a side pane of the greenhouse smashing through the glass and tumbling onto a large accumulation of plants breaking their fall.

"Looks like one hell of a jump, you guys are fucking crazy!" Connor called down towards the two of them.

"Yeah it is, now shut the fuck up and get down here!" Raymond answered rubbing his head and standing up. Melanie stood up slowly picking small shards of glass from herself.

"Good thing I went first, I don't think I would have done the same for either of you." Melanie said between breaths. Connor lowered himself onto his feet.

"Get out of the way, I don't promise I won't land on you if you stay there!" Connor called to the both of them as he got into a jumping posture. Melanie and Raymond stood next to each other looking around the area; it was empty other than the various species of plants inhabiting the area. Connor jumped and landed on the same pane Melanie had, but he smashed through and landed on the same pile of plants Melanie and Raymond landed on. "Ow! Fuck!" Connor exclaimed as he curled into a ball holding his chest.

"Yeah, I guess we flattened the plants and it didn't have as much cushion as it did for us." Raymond chuckled.

"You think?" Connor stated slowly loosening himself and standing up. Melanie plucked the last shade of glass from her arm and took a few steps toward the other side of the greenhouse.

"Interesting collection of plants, never seen some of these before, might be new species developed here. Anyway, we better check out the entire building incase any of those things are in here, and if not. We'd better barricade any doors or windows to prevent them from entering." Melanie said taking a look around and at a staircase leading down at the end of the building. Raymond reached into Melanie's backpack and pulled out a small bag of chips.

"Once we do that, we could be able to stay here for a while, getting real tired." Raymond said as he opened the bag and started eating.

"Alright Raymond, just wait here if you're tired, me and Connor will check things out." Melanie said taking out her gun and walking toward the stairs. Connor gave Raymond a thumbs up and followed Melanie close behind. Raymond sighed and sat down on a block of concrete while eating the chips.

"It's dark down here, better be careful. And watch the stairs; I think they could give way any second now." Melanie said carefully walking down the steps and taking a flashlight out from her bag.

"Do you hear anything moving?" Connor said as she slowly crept down the creaking wooden steps. Melanie turned on the flashlight and held it under her handgun then scanned the room.

"I don't see anything or hear anything that could be living, I hear some sort of bubbling though." Melanie said confused. Connor took another step down and the step cracked but held its weight and Connor stumbled but grabbed the handrail and balanced himself.

"Well check that door, sounds like its coming from there." Connor said as he hopped down the last few steps and joined Melanie.

"Sounds like it, get ready if something jumps at us when I open the door." Melanie said as she put her ear to the door. Connor upholstered his gun and aimed at the door while Melanie stood next to it and put her hand on the knob. "And… Now" Melanie said quietly. She turned the knob and threw the door open. Inside was a small room, a table on one side with many vials and chemistry equipment. On the other side a shelf full of jars and tubes filled with dead organisms and chemicals.

"Creepy, some of those tubes are boiling, that's where the bubbling came from." Connor took a step inside and a zombie grabbed him from the left. It took him down and they fell on the ground. "Shit!" Connor struggled to keep the zombie's mouth away from himself.

"I got you Connor," said Melanie pulling the zombie off of Connor and throwing it down in the room. Connor got up quickly and aimed his gun at the zombie. "No I got it." Melanie said lowering Connor's gun and holstering her own. The zombie got up and took a step toward Melanie. She grunted and spun clockwise landing a hard kick into the Zombie's chest, sending it backwards into a wall. Blood splattered onto the wall behind it and the zombie lowered onto the ground.

"God damn, since when did you turn all badass?" said Connor taking a step toward the zombie's body and kicking it hard in the head.

"Well like I said, I'm a field medic; I've had some combat training." Melanie took a deep breath and looked at all the equipment. "Kinda looks like someone was making something here from the plants in this place probably just new species of flora. Although I do have a bad feeling about this not a lot of this equipment looks like ones that are usually used, they're more expensive and there's different chemicals being used." She looked back out of the room.

"How would you know that?" asked Connor confused.

"I'm some what of a Botanist in my free time." Melanie answered quietly. She searched the dark room again with her flash light and focused on another door. "We should check that one." They walked over to the door and Connor kicked it down and peered inside. "Whoa slow down tiger." said Melanie and she pulled out her gun and walked inside the room.

"I don't wanna look like a wuss compared to you." Connor stated following Melanie into the room.

"Who is here to judge anyway?" answered Melanie as she examined the room. It was large and dark; but it could easily fit a few cars. There were more chemistry equipment around the room and a door leading to another room.

"Just be quiet and do what you have to." said Connor flipping a switch turning on some lights. "It looks safe enough, heavy metal shutters and doors, no windows though. Check the doors if they're locked and I'll check this other room." Connor headed straight toward the other door as Melanie locked up the metal door leading outside.

"Hey guys!" Raymond called to them, "Is the place clear, hope you guys aren't dead I didn't hear any shoo-" the sound of crashing cut off his sentence.


	9. Chapter 9: Death Is In Love With Us

Melanie and Connor looked at each other and both said in unison "Shit" they ran back into the previous room to find the stairs caved in to the ground below. Melanie got on her knees and shined her light into the dark hole below.

"Raymond are you alright?" Melanie called down. They heard a quiet moan and some of the wooden planks moving.

"Yeah I feel alright, the only thing hurting is my thigh, and everything else seems alright. Nothing hurts much more than when we flew through that window." Answered Raymond followed by another moan.

"Is that you moaning or is something else down there?" Connor called down.

"Its me, I hope nothing is down here though." Answered Raymond, he stood up and started feeling around. "I don't feel any doors or light switches, just walls and some floors. Wait, there's only one floor." Raymond chuckled.

"No time to be joking Raymond, but it's just a small room?" Melanie called down.

"Yeah, until I can find a way out of here, I'm going no where." Raymond answered still searching for a way out. Connor looked around the dark room above.

"There's a switch here. Hope it's for the light." Connor said flipping a small switch next to the door to the big room. A light bulb hanging from the ceiling in the corner switched on. The room got illuminated in a fluorescent color showing off the bland white walls and bare wooden floors. "Why didn't we see this before?"

"Maybe because you rushed past it when you kicked open that door, idiot." Melanie said in a hollow voice.

"Well shut up." Connor said lowering himself to a sit against a wall.

"Go check that other door while I try and find a way out for Raymond." Melanie looked back at Connor with a sharp look.

"Fine, I'll go do the hard work." Connor whined getting up and walking to the other door. Connor grabbed and jumbled the doorknob. "It's locked or blocked or something." He called back to Melanie and Raymond.

"Well if anything, we should rest up. We've been through a lot today so far, we should be fine in this building, just rest for the night." Raymond moved some of the collapsed wood out of the way. "At least that light up there gives me some vision down here."

Melanie backed away from the hole and leaned against a wall "We'll find out what's happening in this city and get it out somehow." Melanie said taking off her backpack and pulling out a small bag of chips. Connor walked into the room and set himself next to the hole against a wall.

"All we can do now is talk. Raymond, you're a pilot but you seem pretty well collected, even in a situation like this. Why is that?" Connor asked.

"Well, also from being a pilot I have to stay calm in cases of emergency. I'm usually not a very brave guy, but I guess my natural instinct keeps me sane." Raymond snickered. Melanie took out a granola bar and threw it to Connor. It landed on his lap and he quickly snatched it up.

"I'm an indoors person, I am usually on the computer and don't do much. I tried to keep my self on the cool side but… At least we're going to get out of this mess alive." Connor said taking a bite into the bar.

"How are you so sure that we're going to find a way out of here?" Melanie said taking a deep breath and started munching on the chips.

"Don't worry about it, but I'm tired and hungry, throw me a snack or two." said Raymond sitting against a dark wall. Melanie grabbed another bag of chips and granola bar and tossed it down.

"Raymond.. If anything, you're the one to blame for us being here, if you hadn't come by and picked the two of us up. I know that both of us would be dead right now." Connor said with a chunk of granola in his mouth.

"Well.. I'm not a bad person. I was just." Raymond cut off his sentence short.

"Raymond, thanks, I never thought of that until Connor brought it up. But really, thanks for stopping and picking me up." Melanie said closing her eyes. Connor peered into the hole into the darkness.

"You there man? You alright?" Connor asked into the hole. There was silence for a few seconds then they heard snoring. "I guess he fell asleep. He's got the right idea though; just rest and we'll figure things out later." Connor turned to Melanie. She had also fallen silent. "My turn I guess." Connor closed his eyes and let the darkness engulf him with only the eerie moans of the undead outside to accompany him.

"Connor wake up, we gotta get out of here. Those things outside are trying to break in." Melanie whispered while shaking Connors shoulders.

"What?" Connor opened his eyes confused. The moans outside had gotten significantly louder. "Wha? How long were we sleeping?"

Melanie checked her watch quickly "About seven hours, it's almost midnight." Melanie leaned over the hole. "Raymond wake up! We have to get out of here some how." She whispered loudly into the darkness.

"Huh? Damn those things need to shut the fuck up." Raymond said rubbing his neck.

"We gotta find a way out for you now. Those things could break in at any second; they seem to know that door and shutter are the only ways in here." Melanie said as she got up and walked into the other room with the chemistry equipment. Connor stood up and coughed.

"Anything in that room Melanie?" asked Connor walking toward the room.

"Actually, looks like a trapdoor under this bastard." She said pushing the zombie's body off to the side. "Could get to Raymond, Connor help me open this?" Melanie grabbed a small handle on one side of the hatch. Connor took a step into the room and took a hold of the hatch also.

"Hey guys just don't worry about me. I'll get out of this on my own. Just go, I promise I'll catch up with you guys sooner or later." Raymond called up from the hole. Melanie and Connor opened up the hatch and below was a tunnel lit by small lights that leads outward from the building.

"You sure man? We can get you out of there some how." Connor said walking back into the other room and closing the door that lead to the bigger room.

"This tunnel doesn't lead anywhere under this building. It goes elsewhere." Melanie said ducking her head into the tunnel. Connor walked over to the hole and looked in it.

"I'm not leaving you; you didn't leave me on the streets." Connor said with a trace of sadness in his voice.

"Just go. I'll be fine, it's better for the two of you to get out of here now. I'd rather have two of us escape than none of us at all." answered Raymond clearing his voice shortly afterward. Melanie got up and motioned Connor over.

"He's right, I don't want to leave him either but if he wants to sacrifice himself for us. We can't stop him, we should just go." said Melanie placing her hand on Connor's shoulder. "The path is clear, go down."

"You're promising to Melanie now Raymond. Don't make a promise with a girl if you can't keep it." Connor said hopping down into the small tunnel.

"See you later Raymond." said Melanie following Connor down into the hole. "Don't die on us." She called up.

"See you later," Raymond called back "I hope." he whispered.


End file.
